Robert Frank has an interesting take on Sotheby’s Hong Kong sales which saw strong prices for gems, wine, Chinese and Japanese porcelains and bronzes, as well as paintings.

Citing the well-known Asian attraction to gems, especially large diamonds and colored diamonds, as a portable store of value, Frank goes on to underscore a significant change in attitude where Asian buyers seem to be reacting to the dynamic situation in the world—the Hong Kong protests taking place right around the sale rooms and the global commodities slide—by putting money into collectibles.

This is a significant change and another indication that art, wine, gems and antiques are being us a global reserve currency. If this is the case, it has an important effect on the broader art and collectibles market.